Set Adrift
by twstofate
Summary: In the year 2005, Vince McMahon dies, supposedly due to a heart attack. The WWE (grr) is desperate for someone to fill the shoes of Vince and figure out what is trying to destroy the WWE. FINISHED for real this time.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello everyone. This is set in the future and it revolves around the intrigue surrounding the death of Vince McMahon. I do not own the WWE nor has any of this happened (nor will it). Any semblance of reality is completely coincidental. I love feedback! Enjoy!  
  
June 2005  
  
"In sports and entertainment, we are sorry to report the death of Vince McMahon. McMahon passed away early this morning, apparently due to a cardiac arrest. McMahon is best known as a legendary promoter of professional wrestling, who made the WWE into a billion dollar industry. He is survived by his wife Linda and his children Shane and Stephanie."  
  
A man in a darkened room turned off his television and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, a sinister smile covering his face. 


	2. Chapter One

Stephanie McMahon woke up slowly, as she always did. She stretched her arms above her head and rolled her neck around to get comfortable. She smiled when she smell coffee brewing, pleased that she had remembered to set the timer the night before.  
  
She reached over to the chair near her full-sized bed and grabbed her robe. She pulled the robe on as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She got to her feet and padded barefoot out of her room and down to the kitchen.  
  
She grabbed her favorite mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of coffee. It was black, the way she liked it. She walked over to the window and looked out at the waves crashing into the cliffs across the harbor from her lighthouse. Her home.  
  
"Looks like a storm is coming in," she said to herself softly. She turned away from the window and climbed back upstairs, past the level her bedroom was on, to her office. She turned on her stereo and soft jazz started playing in the background. Stephanie gathered the pages she had finished the night before and began to proofread them.  
  
Something about Evan didn't seem right. She could picture him so vividly in her mind. He had blond hair that was in desperate need of a trim, mesmerizing blue eyes, and a cocky grin. That was easy enough to describe. But there was something about him that she couldn't seem to capture with words.  
  
Of course, she was never completely satisfied with any of her heroes and the copies of her books still flew off the shelf upon arrival. She shook her head, reconciling herself to the fact that she would probably never be able to describe him to her liking and concentrated on making corrections in her manuscript.  
  
Before long, dozens of the pages had been marked rather liberally with corrections. Stephanie leaned back, giving her neck and eyes a break. She jumped in surprise as the phone rang. She rarely got phone calls, mostly because only three people knew her phone number and only two ever called. Even her publisher only had her fax number and e-mail address.  
  
"Who could that be?" Stephanie asked. Vince had talked with her two days earlier and Shane only called at night. She shrugged as she picked up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Steph," Shane said, his voice ragged.  
  
"Hey Shaners," Stephanie replied, leaning back in her chair, expecting a chat with her brother. "What's up?"  
  
"Something bad has happened," Shane said.  
  
"What?" Stephanie asked, smiling to herself. "Is Dad embroiled in another lawsuit?"  
  
"No Stephanie, I'm serious," Shane said.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said nodding. "What is it?"  
  
"Dad died this morning," Shane said.  
  
The phone slipped out of Stephanie's hand and crashed to the floor. Stephanie sat in her chair, her mouth hanging open in shock.  
  
"Stephanie!" Shane shouted over the receiver.  
  
Stephanie looked down at the phone on the ground and slowly bent over to pick it up. "I'm here."  
  
"You okay?" Shane asked. "I didn't want to tell you over the phone, but I didn't want you to find out from someone else."  
  
"What happened?" Stephanie asked, tears pricking her eyes.  
  
"He had a heart attack," Shane said.  
  
"But he was so healthy," Stephanie said, tears flowing down her cheeks. "He worked out all the time and he ate healthy foods."  
  
"I know Stephanie," Shane said. "It doesn't make sense to me either."  
  
"Oh my God Shane," Stephanie said, a sob escaping. "He can't be dead!"  
  
"I'm sorry sweetie," Shane said. "Look, I'm catching a flight up to Portland so I can meet you and we'll fly down to North Carolina together."  
  
"North Carolina?" Stephanie asked in confusion.  
  
"He wanted to be buried in North Carolina," Shane replied.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said.  
  
"Are you going to be able to get to the airport okay?" Shane asked.  
  
"I hope so," Stephanie said.  
  
"I'll see you then," Shane said. "I love you sis."  
  
"I love you too," Stephanie said, hanging up the phone.  
  
Stephanie hung up the phone and buried her head in her arms on the desk. Her body shook with sobs as she cried for her father. After several moments, she sat up and went downstairs to get ready to leave her home.  
  
*  
  
Stephanie looked around the ground level of the lighthouse before she grabbed her keys and turned to leave. Moments after she left, the phone rang again.  
  
"Hey, it's Steph. Leave a message."  
  
"Steph, it's me. I just heard. I'm really sorry. I know you love him. Call me." 


	3. Chapter Two

"I don't believe it's raining," Shane said. "Figures."  
  
"Yeah, Dad would have wanted it to rain for his funeral," Stephanie replied. She was sitting in the backseat of the limo with her brother. Linda had gone in another car. Stephanie and Linda hadn't spoken civilly to each other in over four years.  
  
"You holding up okay?" Shane asked.  
  
"I've been better," Stephanie said, nodding her head to herself. "I just couldn't stay inside for the ceremony. It hurts Shane."  
  
"I know," Shane said.  
  
"You did a good job with the eulogy though," Stephanie said. "You really probably had the fullest view of him. You knew his faults and still loved him."  
  
"You did too," Shane said.  
  
"Yeah, but I didn't accept those faults," Stephanie said. "I ignored them."  
  
"Maybe that was better," Shane said.  
  
"It doesn't matter now," Stephanie said. "I'm just glad you and him were getting along again before he…"  
  
"Me too," Shane said, hugging his sister to his side. "You should talk to Mom."  
  
"No," Stephanie said. "She went out of her way several times to ruin my life. She only took Dad back after I joined you in the Alliance, she told Hunter the truth about the baby, and she tried to keep me from publishing my first book."  
  
"I'd hate to see something happening to her before you two had a chance to talk," Shane said. "I mean, it could have happened with me and Dad."  
  
"She just doesn't mean as much to me as she used to Shane," Stephanie replied.  
  
"I guess we better get out there," Shane said.  
  
"Who's there?" Stephanie asked. She had never left the vestibule of the church at the ceremony. She hadn't been able to face the coffin that laid open at the altar.  
  
"Everyone," Shane said.  
  
"Its been so long since I've seen anyone," Stephanie said.  
  
"Three years," Shane said.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said.  
  
Shane opened the door to the limo and opened the wide umbrella. He turned back to the car to help Stephanie from the car. They walked slowly down to the gravesite where Vince's coffin waited to be buried.  
  
Around the open gravesite, several of Vince McMahon's employees, past and present, friends, and associates stood, awaiting the burial. Stephanie and Shane walked past them all to stand next to Linda at the edge of the grave.  
  
Stephanie looked over at her mother for a brief moment. She noted the blank look on Linda's face and wondered what it meant.  
  
She looked up and was assaulted by the blue eyes that haunted her. The one that got away. Or the one she ran away from when things became too serious, too soon. She looked down at her feet, feeling momentarily stunned by his presence, though she shouldn't have been.  
  
"Hey," a soft voice said from next to her. She turned to see Chris Jericho. She smiled softly at him.  
  
"Hi," she replied. "I'm glad you came."  
  
"I had to be here for you," Chris said. He reached up and squeezed her upper arm comfortingly. "I've sent you about a dozen e-mails."  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. "I haven't had the energy to reply to anything in my mailbox."  
  
"You doing okay?" Chris asked.  
  
"I've been better," Stephanie admitted. "But I'm getting used to the idea of him being gone. Slowly but surely."  
  
"Are you going to be in town long?" Chris asked.  
  
"A week or so," Stephanie said. "Long enough for the will to be sorted out and to have a visit with Shane."  
  
"We should have lunch," Chris said.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said. "I'll be in Connecticut, so that would probably be the best place to do that."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Chris said. He again squeezed her arm before he walked away to join Jeff and Matt Hardy.  
  
Stephanie looked at the other people. JR looked unusually dower as he stood next to Jerry Lawler. Christian stood next to Lance Storm and Trish Stratus. Trish glanced at Stephanie and she offered an apologetic smile to Stephanie. Stephanie returned the gesture. Kevin Nash and X-Pac stood with her ex-husband. The Rock stood with Stone Cold Steve Austin.  
  
It was strange to see them all. Each of them seemingly mourning her father. Her expression slowly became angry as her eyes fell upon Vince's foe, Ric Flair.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Stephanie hissed to Shane.  
  
"Steph, let it go," Shane pleaded.  
  
"Does he have no respect?" Stephanie asked, tears coming to her eyes again.  
  
"I'm sure he won't make a scene," Shane said.  
  
"He had better not," Stephanie said. She turned her attention back to the casket. It was time to put her father to rest. 


	4. Chapter Three

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm excited about this story, so I hope you all like it.  
  
*  
  
"Hey buddy," Stephanie said when Jericho stepped into the room she was using as an office temporarily in the WWE headquarters.  
  
"Hey Stephanie," Jericho said, settling into the chair across from Stephanie. "I see they kept your office ready for you."  
  
"Shane tells me it was completely Daddy's doing," Stephanie said, leaning back into the cushions of her seat. "He refused to let anyone move into it, hoping I would come back."  
  
"What are you doing back here?" Jericho asked.  
  
"Well, there were some financial matters that needed to be sorted out and we know that I'm the champion of that," Stephanie said, smiling over at Jericho. "And I'm waiting for my lawyer to messenger some papers here so I can give my proxy to Shane."  
  
"You're giving your proxy to Shane?" Jericho asked in surprise.  
  
"Chris, you know better than anyone that I have another life now," Stephanie said to her ex-boyfriend and best friend.  
  
"Stephanie, you have to stay with us," Jericho said. Stephanie raised her eyebrow in question at the desperate tone in his voice.  
  
"Shane will take care of you guys," Stephanie said calmly.  
  
"Look, I respect the hell out of your brother," Jericho said quietly, "but he lets himself get dominated by Linda and there is something not right about Linda."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it in this building," Jericho said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said. "I'll leave a message with Shane's secretary to have the messenger leave the papers on my desk. Lets go to lunch."  
  
There was a light tap on the door and Stephanie and Jericho looked up to see The Rock standing in the doorway. "You said to meet me here," Rocky said to Jericho.  
  
"Yeah," Jericho said. "Come with us to lunch."  
  
"Excuse me," Stephanie said. "But I don't want to eat lunch with him."  
  
"Stephanie, I want him to eat with us," Jericho said. "Trust me?"  
  
Stephanie looked into the soft blue eyes that she trusted more than any other eyes in the world. She nodded slowly and got out of her chair. She grabbed her purse and followed Jericho and The Rock out of the building.  
  
*  
  
"So?" Stephanie asked. They had each ordered their meals at a quiet Italian restaurant and Stephanie looked at Jericho and The Rock expectantly. "What's up?"  
  
"We don't think Vince's death was a simple heart attack," Jericho said.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stephanie asked in shock.  
  
"We think that something either made him have a heart attack or he was made to look like he had a heart attack," Jericho said.  
  
"I don't understand," Stephanie said, looking back and forth between the faces of her closest friend and her former foe.  
  
"Stephanie, Vince was acting strange for the last few months before his death," Jericho said. "And Linda had been spending a lot of time with Ric Flair."  
  
"Are you saying my mother was cheating on Daddy?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Most likely," Jericho said, nodding.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said. "You could have told me all of that. Why did Rocky have to come along?"  
  
"Look," The Rock said. "Everyone knows I'm not a huge fan of your dad's. But I knew that he cared about the business and in his own messed up way he cared about the wrestlers. Something has been going on that has changed the whole atmosphere of the company."  
  
"Shane can change that," Stephanie said.  
  
"No, Shane can't," Jericho said. "Shane was never as strong as you or your dad."  
  
"As much as I don't want to say it," Rocky said. "We need you Stephanie."  
  
"But I have a life now," Stephanie said. "I haven't been in a wrestling ring or to a wrestling event in over three years!"  
  
"You don't have a life," Jericho said softly to his friend.  
  
"I'm a best-selling author," Stephanie said.  
  
"And you live alone in a lighthouse on the coast of Maine," Jericho said. "I don't even know exactly where it is. Only you, Shane, and Vince knew that. I don't know your phone number either. You occasionally call me and we e-mail each other. You exist Stephanie. You don't live."  
  
"I have no complaints," Stephanie said softly.  
  
"Because you can't get hurt," Chris said. "You left after we broke up because you couldn't take another disappointment."  
  
"You don't know that," Stephanie said. "I left because I was tired of being depressed and tired of hoping that I could become involved in wrestling again."  
  
"Stephanie, I love you," Chris said with the sincerity of an old friend. "But you are only fooling yourself. I know that you've purposely isolated yourself."  
  
Stephanie looked at Jericho, torn between feelings of betrayal and relief. Someone had finally realized that she had purposely detached herself from the world. But he had also confronted her in front of one of the few people she honestly detested.  
  
"I don't need to be lectured Chris," Stephanie said quietly, but forcefully. "I'm happy with my life and that is all that matters."  
  
"Are you happy Stephanie?" Rocky asked.  
  
Stephanie looked at Rocky with shock. "Do you really care?"  
  
"Yeah," Rocky said, nodding solemnly.  
  
"Why?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Because you and I were friends once upon a time," Rocky replied. "Back when you were engaged to that idiot Test."  
  
"We were, weren't we?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Would it be so bad coming back to wrestling?" Rocky asked. "You could still write if you really love it and you might be able to find some inspiration other than this blond dolt for your heroes occasionally."  
  
Stephanie blushed furiously, "You read my novels?"  
  
"I'm your inspiration?" Jericho asked his friend.  
  
"Yeah I do," Rocky said, chuckling softly at Stephanie's embarrassment.  
  
"I'm your inspiration?" Jericho asked Stephanie again.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said softly. "You're the only person outside of my family that I'm close to."  
  
"I guess I'll have to read them more often," Jericho said, grinning at Stephanie.  
  
"Egotistical jerk," Stephanie muttered.  
  
"The thing is Stephanie," Rocky said, drawing her attention back towards himself. "We need you. You have the same strength and love for the business that your dad had. If we're going to survive, we need you to lead us."  
  
Stephanie looked at the two men sitting in front of her. "I'll think about it."  
  
*  
  
"Hey Shaners," Stephanie said, leaning against the doorway of Shane's office.  
  
"Hey," Shane said, smiling at his sister as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk.  
  
"How are you doing?" Stephanie asked, sitting in the chair across from her brother.  
  
"I'm a little overwhelmed," Shane admitted. "Dad's shoes are big."  
  
"Hard to step into?" Stephanie asked sympathetically.  
  
"You could definitely say that," Shane said.  
  
"Sorry bro," Stephanie said. She paused for a moment before she asked, "Would you mind if I didn't sign my proxy over to you right away? If I waited around here for awhile?"  
  
"Are you serious?" Shane asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said tentatively.  
  
"That would be great," Shane said. "I don't think I can do this all by myself."  
  
"Really?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I wanted to ask you to stay, but I knew you loved your lighthouse and all," Shane said.  
  
"It'll still be there," Stephanie said.  
  
"Well, welcome back to the WWE," Shane said.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said, smiling at her brother. 


	5. Chapter Four

"I called you," a voice said from the doorway.  
  
Stephanie jumped in her seat in surprise. She turned away from her computer screen and looked at the door. "You did?" she asked. "No one gave me a message."  
  
"I don't mean here," he replied.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said uncertainly.  
  
"I called your phone number at home," he said.  
  
"Oh," Stephanie said. "It was probably after I left for the airport."  
  
"That's what I figured," he said.  
  
"You can sit down if you want to," Stephanie said, gesturing towards the chairs in her office.  
  
"Thanks," he said, settling in the chair Jericho had sat in earlier in the day. "What are you doing here so late?"  
  
"Going over paperwork," Stephanie said. "It's all kind of overwhelming."  
  
"Are you going back home?" he asked.  
  
"No," Stephanie said. "At least not right away."  
  
"I see," he said.  
  
"I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable," Stephanie said. "But Shane needs me to stay here and a couple of people have made it clear that they want me here."  
  
"I want you here too," he said softly.  
  
"Yeah?" Stephanie asked, suddenly feeling warm and happy inside for the first time in several days.  
  
"I love you Steph," he said. "Why wouldn't I want you here?"  
  
"We've kept everything a secret for so long," Stephanie sighed, leaning back in her chair. "We only see each other about five or six times a month. It's not much of a relationship."  
  
"It's not just a relationship though," he replied.  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. She stood up and walked to the door to close it and lock it. "But it isn't what it should be."  
  
"You were the one who was sure everything would be destroyed if we let anyone know," he replied. He held out his arms and let her sit in her lap.  
  
"Daddy knew," Stephanie said. "He was happy for us."  
  
"Well, I'm the only man in your life that he ever liked," he replied. "He didn't like Test, he hated Hunter for how he treated you, and he wasn't really all that fond of Jericho."  
  
"Jericho is my best friend," Stephanie said. "And Daddy liked him just fine."  
  
"If he's such a good friend, why haven't you told him about us?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know," Stephanie sighed, feeling at home in the arms that held her close. "I've tried but I don't think he could possibly understand."  
  
"You think if he knew he'd watch me like a hawk?" he asked.  
  
"That too," Stephanie acknowledged.  
  
"I love you," he said. "I've hurt for you these past few days."  
  
She looked into the blue eyes that she loved, the blue eyes that haunted her dreams when he wasn't with her. "I know," Stephanie said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I saw you at the funeral."  
  
"I wanted to just wrap you up and tell you everything would be okay," he said.  
  
"Can you do it now?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"God yes," he said, pulling her closer to him. "And I will do my best to make sure that everything will be okay."  
  
Stephanie put her hand over his chest, where his heart was and felt it beat against her palm. "I believe you."  
  
"Good," he said. He covered her hand with his own.  
  
"I've tried so hard to get away from this business," Stephanie said, lying her head on his shoulder. "But because of you and my family I was never completely detached. Now I'm going to be back in the thick of things."  
  
"Who told you they wanted you back in the federation?" he asked, stroking his hand up and down her back in a soothing rhythm.  
  
"Jericho of course," Stephanie said. "And The Rock."  
  
"The Rock?" he asked in shock.  
  
"That was basically my response," Stephanie said, tracing figures on his chest.  
  
"Well, like I said," he said, "I'm glad you will be close. Sometimes I worry about you up in that lighthouse. But you only leave for book tours."  
  
"You don't need to worry," Stephanie said.  
  
"It's in the job description," he replied simply.  
  
"Where?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I will honor, obey, love, and protect," he said simply. "Right there, plain as day."  
  
"So protect means worry?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"It does now," he replied.  
  
"Well, I worry about you too," Stephanie said. "You work too hard."  
  
"You work too hard," he said. "It's all you do when you're alone and you're alone most of the time."  
  
"Well, we will both just have to rectify that," Stephanie said.  
  
"I'd like for you to stay with me," he said, pulling her close again.  
  
"I don't know," Stephanie said.  
  
"Don't you think it's about time we went ahead and let the cat out of the bag?" he asked. "It's been nearly three years."  
  
"You're right," Stephanie said. "But we have to tell Shane first."  
  
"He doesn't like me much," he said.  
  
"He's my brother," Stephanie said.  
  
"Okay, we tell Shane first," he agreed.  
  
"And then I have to tell Jericho," Stephanie sighed. "But I can do that alone."  
  
"He still had a crush on you," he said.  
  
"He knows it would never work out though and we are better off as friends," Stephanie said.  
  
"He still has a crush on you," he said.  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter," Stephanie said. "Because I love you."  
  
"And I love you," he replied. He lightly kissed her lips.  
  
"Come home with me tonight," Stephanie said. "We'll tell Shane in the morning."  
  
"Okay," he said.  
  
She got off of his lap and went to her desk to arrange the papers and turn off her computer. He stood up and stretched.  
  
"Wait a sec," he said, pulling the chain of the simple chain he always wore around his neck out from under his shirt. He took the chain off and shook off the simple gold band that hung on the chain. He placed the band on his left ring finger. "Might as well go all the way."  
  
Stephanie smiled softly and took off the chain she wore. Moments later she was wearing an identical gold band on her finger.  
  
"It's official," he said, taking her hand in his. "We're announcing to the world that we've been married for about three years."  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said, squeezing his hand in hers.  
  
"Lets get out of here," he said, pulling her towards the door.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said, letting him pull her out of the office.  
  
*  
  
"Morning Steph," Shane said, without looking up from the newspaper. He heard footsteps on the tile and expected it to be Stephanie since she was the only other person still in the house.  
  
"She'll be down in a second," a decidedly masculine voice said.  
  
Shane's head whipped up to see the owner of the voice wearing a t-shirt and warm-up pants.  
  
"Hey guys," Stephanie said as she breezed into the kitchen. She headed straight for the coffee pot.  
  
"What is he doing here?" Shane asked.  
  
"I invited him," Stephanie said. "We have something to tell you Shane. You're going to be angry, but we still have to tell you."  
  
"Okay," Shane said suspiciously.  
  
"We're married," Stephanie said.  
  
"Married?" Shane sputtered.  
  
"Have been for nearly three years," Stephanie continued.  
  
"You…and Kurt have been married for three years?" Shane asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said.  
  
Shane looked from his sister to Kurt Angle. "I have to get to work. We'll talk later."  
  
"Bye Shane," Stephanie said.  
  
"Three years?" Shane asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said.  
  
"Dear God," Shane sighed as he left the kitchen.  
  
*  
  
Betcha didn't see that one coming, did you? Tell me what you think, please!!! 


	6. Chapter Five

"Hey," Stephanie said to Kurt when he slipped an arm around her waist. She looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled at him.  
  
"I love you," Kurt said, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. "I like your hair straight like that."  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said. "Do I look studious?"  
  
Kurt looked at the blue sleeveless button down shirt and the high-waisted black slacks she was wearing. "You look like a very competent woman," he said, kissing her shoulder again.  
  
"I am a very competent woman," Stephanie said, smiling at Kurt.  
  
"Steph!" Jericho exclaimed as he barged into her dressing room. "What is he doing in here?"  
  
"Hey Chris," Stephanie said. She patted Kurt's hand and went to sit on the couch. "Why don't you sit down?"  
  
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Chris asked.  
  
"Probably not," Stephanie said.  
  
"I'll let you two talk," Kurt said, knowing well how close his wife was to Chris Jericho.  
  
"What's up?" Jericho asked, sitting on the edge of the couch next to Stephanie.  
  
"You know Kurt and I were always friends," Stephanie said. "Even after he was the one who destroyed the Alliance, our relationship was never that strained."  
  
"Yeah," Chris said, nodding.  
  
"Well, we've been a lot closer than anyone knows," Stephanie said. "I did have an affair with him while I was married to Hunter. He was the only one, but I still had an affair with him. It was when he defected to the Alliance."  
  
"Okay," Chris said.  
  
"Well, we stopped seeing each other after the Alliance ended," Stephanie said. "And then you and I went out after I got divorced. But when we broke up it was Kurt I ran to."  
  
"You got your lighthouse though," Chris said.  
  
"He helped me find it," Stephanie said.  
  
"So he knows where it is?" Chris asked.  
  
"He owns half of it," Stephanie said.  
  
"You bought your lighthouse with Kurt Angle?" Chris asked. "God, if that's it, I'm fine. I thought this was serious or something."  
  
"That's not it Chris," Stephanie said.  
  
"What?" Chris asked.  
  
"In September, Kurt and I will have been married for three years," Stephanie said.  
  
Chris sat there, not moving. Stephanie laid her hand on his arm. "You okay Chris?"  
  
"How could you not tell me?" Chris asked.  
  
"We didn't tell anyone," Stephanie said. "My dad knew, that was it."  
  
"You still could have told me," Chris said. "I would have kept it a secret if you asked me to."  
  
"I know you would have," Stephanie said. "But it wasn't fair to Kurt to ask that he not tell anyone and then ask him to let me tell you."  
  
"And you're married to him?" Chris asked. "Are you happy?"  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said. "We don't see each other so often, but often enough."  
  
"Well, I guess I have to be happy for you," Chris said.  
  
"You don't have to," Stephanie said. "But I would like for you to be happy for me. I do love him Chris. He's good to me."  
  
"Well, that I can judge for myself," Chris said.  
  
"Flair in his son want to make an example of The Rock," Chris said. "The stupid man should have stuck to movies instead of trying to come back and help us."  
  
"He came back to help?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yeah," Chris said.  
  
"And David is as bad as Flair?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Sometimes I think he could be worse," Chris said. "But every now and then, like when Stacy talks about him, I think he might be a decent guy."  
  
"We can hope," Stephanie said.  
  
"Well, you want to help me go protect The Rock's worthless ass?" Chris asked.  
  
"I guess I have a couple of announcements to make anyways," Stephanie said, shrugging.  
  
*  
  
Stephanie knew her father had changed his in-ring music, but she had always loved "No Chance". She came out to the music, Jericho right behind her.  
  
"Why don't you drop the chair?" Stephanie asked Ric Flair.  
  
"You have no power here," Flair said.  
  
"That's where you are wrong," Stephanie said. "With my brother, I control fifty percent of the WWE Flair. And if you don't stop beating The Rock, I will sue you for destruction of property."  
  
"She means the chair, not The Rock," Jericho said.  
  
"Funny," Flair said to Jericho, a constant thorn in his side since he came to own half of the WWE.  
  
"Nevertheless," Stephanie shrugged. "You should stop."  
  
"Who's going to stop me?" Flair asked. "And the rest of my guys?"  
  
Flair motioned to the men around him. It was an impressive bunch, Stephanie could admit that. In the ring with Flair and David were Kevin Nash, X-Pac, Big Show, Billy Gunn, Torrie Wilson, Ivory, Christian, Mr. Perfect, Brock Lesnar, and Hunter.  
  
"Me," Stephanie said.  
  
"And what army?" Flair asked, obviously amused.  
  
"Us," Kurt said as he stepped out onto the top of the ramp with Shane, the Hardys, Edge, Kane, Trish, and Molly. "There are more of us in the back who are willing to stand with Stephanie also."  
  
"You think that little brat can come in here and decide she wants to change everything?" Flair asked. "I don't think so."  
  
"I just want you to leave The Rock alone for now," Stephanie said.  
  
"Fine," Flair said. Nash and X-Pac roughly shoved the beaten and bruised Rocky out of the ring. Jeff and Matt quickly went to help him up the ramp.  
  
"Thanks," Rock said when he got to the top.  
  
"It's no big deal," Stephanie said. "Why you?"  
  
"Who the hell knows?" Rock answered.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said to Flair. "I'm sure we will have fun working with each other over the upcoming months."  
  
"Doubtful," Flair said.  
  
Stephanie shrugged and led her rag-tag band off of the ramp. Kurt was close behind her. "You're shaking Stephanie," he commented softly, pulling her into his arms.  
  
"I never thought I would be back," Stephanie said, letting him pull her against his solid body.  
  
"You are back now," Kurt said. "And I'll take care of you."  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. She straightened to see Jericho watching them with raised brows.  
  
"You two are going to make me sick, huh?" Jericho asked.  
  
"Maybe so," Stephanie said.  
  
"Gross," Jericho said before walking away.  
  
*  
  
I know a lot has to be explained about Stephanie and Kurt's relationship and it will be in the next chapter. Just know that nothing about them is conventional and Stephanie never feels like their marriage is real. If you think about it like that it's easy to understand her comments about him in the second chapter at Vince's funeral. If you read back you'll know what I'm talking about. 


	7. Chapter Six

"Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie," a voice said, mockingly from behind her.  
  
Stephanie turned to see David Flair standing in the doorway. "What do you want?"  
  
"Is that any way to talk to me?" David asked.  
  
"Sure," Stephanie shrugged. "I see no reason why I shouldn't."  
  
"Look, I don't want any problems between us," David said. "I respected your old man, I really did. All of the crap between our families was between our fathers."  
  
"Fine," Stephanie said. "But you treat people like crap."  
  
"That's the pot calling the kettle black," David said. "When you were married you treated people like crap. You treated Hunter pretty bad too."  
  
"It was personal," Stephanie said.  
  
"Maybe the stuff between me and other wrestlers is personal too," David said.  
  
"Whatever," Stephanie said, shrugging.  
  
"Come on Stephanie," David said. "Someday I'm going to own half of this company. We should be friends."  
  
"I don't want to be friends with you," Stephanie said.  
  
"Why not?" David asked, giving her his best smile.  
  
"Because you are controlled by your father," Stephanie said. "And frankly I don't trust your father at all."  
  
"Your mother does," David said.  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Well, her and Dad have been close for a few months now," David said, sitting down in the chair in her dressing room.  
  
"I don't trust her either," Stephanie said.  
  
"I forget," David said. "You always were your dad's kid, weren't you? We have so much in common."  
  
"We really don't," Stephanie said. "I have work to do. I'm sure you don't understand, but I have to get it done."  
  
"Writing another novel?" David asked.  
  
"It's none of your business," Stephanie said.  
  
"Hey Stephanie," Kurt said as he walked into the dressing room.  
  
"Kurt?" Stephanie asked in a puzzled voice.  
  
"I have to change for my match," Kurt explained to David. "Can you leave?"  
  
"You are with Stephanie?" David asked.  
  
"Yeah," Kurt said. "Haven't you heard the news kid?"  
  
"What news?" David asked.  
  
"Stephanie and I have been married for almost three years," Kurt said, pointing to the ring on his left hand.  
  
Stephanie looked quickly at her own left hand and was shocked to see a ring on her ring finger. She looked up in shock at Kurt.  
  
"Well, I'll let you change then," David said, shrugging as he left the ring.  
  
"Why did you tell him we are married?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Because we are," Kurt said. "I thought we decided we were going to go ahead and tell people the truth now."  
  
"But we aren't married," Stephanie said, tears springing to her eyes. "You left me when I needed you. We aren't married."  
  
"Shit," Kurt muttered under his breath. "Not now."  
  
"What are you doing in my dressing room?" Stephanie asked. "Why am I even here?"  
  
"Stephanie, I need you to stay here," Kurt said, placing hands on both of her shoulders. She quivered at his touch. "I'm going to go get Chris Jericho, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said, nodding. "Maybe he can tell me what you are up to."  
  
"Doubtful," Kurt muttered to himself as he headed down the hall in search for the man he had been both friend and enemy to for the past several years.  
  
"Hey," Kurt said, barging into Jericho's dressing room. "Can you come sit with Stephanie during my match please?"  
  
"Sure you can come in," Jericho said. "Thanks for knocking."  
  
"Look, I have to be out in the ring in about five minutes," Kurt said. "And I really need someone to stay with Stephanie. Would you rather me go find someone else?"  
  
"No," Jericho sighed, getting out of his seat to follow Angle to his room.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jericho finally asked as they neared the room Stephanie was in.  
  
"I don't have enough time to explain right now," Kurt said. "But suffice to say, Stephanie is going to say some pretty strange stuff while you guys are in the room together. I'll explain it all when I'm done."  
  
"Okay," Jericho said. He opened the door to see Stephanie pacing the dressing room. She looked up and smiled with relief at the sight of him.  
  
"Chris!" she exclaimed, flying to his arms.  
  
"I don't have enough time to change," Angle said, pulling on a pair of elbow pads. "I'll see you two in about twenty minutes."  
  
"What's wrong sweetheart?" Jericho asked Stephanie, pushing her hair away from her face with gentle hands.  
  
"Kurt says he and I are married," Stephanie said, tears in her eyes. "He even somehow put a ring on my finger. But he left me Chris. And I was driving."  
  
"Driving?" Chris asked.  
  
"It was raining," Stephanie said. "And all I could say was 'he left me,' over and over again."  
  
"Sweetie," Jericho said, pulling her into his embrace, trying to comfort her obvious distress. "Everything will be fine."  
  
"And what am I doing at an event?" Stephanie asked. "Hunter got me banned."  
  
"You own a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said, suddenly feeling very confused. "Lets watch Kurt's match."  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said. "But I sold my portion of the WWF."  
  
"Steph, you just inherited a quarter of the WWE," Jericho said.  
  
"What?" Stephanie asked in shock.  
  
Jericho vaguely noted that Kurt looked distracted in the ring and X-Pac was beating the shit out of him. "You just inherited."  
  
"How?" Stephanie asked, her eyes filled with dread.  
  
"Vince died sweetie," Jericho said. "He left you a quarter."  
  
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed, tears falling down her cheeks. "He can't have died!"  
  
Jericho pulled her closer to him and stroked her back while she cried. Several minutes later, Kurt burst into the ring to see Stephanie wrapped in Jericho's arms. She was sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Shit!" Kurt said under his breath. "Stephanie, I need you to look at me."  
  
Stephanie looked up at Kurt, her eyes red from crying. "You're bleeding Kurt."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Kurt said. He gently pulled her out of Chris' arms. "Sweetie, I need you to remember. Remember the car accident. Okay?"  
  
"Accident?" Stephanie asked, feeling confused.  
  
"Right after we fought and I left," Kurt said. "You went driving. You wanted to tell me about the baby, but you hadn't been able to and you thought I was gone for good."  
  
"You were," Stephanie said, tears again filling her eyes.  
  
"You got into an accident," Kurt said. "And the baby died."  
  
Stephanie's eyes widened with horror. "Kurt!"  
  
Jericho watched in amazement as Stephanie collapsed into Kurt's arms. Kurt held her closely, while she trembled in his arms. "I'm sorry Kurt. I, I don't know what triggered it."  
  
"It's not your fault baby," Kurt said reassuringly. "It was probably David."  
  
"David?" Stephanie asked, thinking for a moment. "David Flair?"  
  
"Yeah, the little ass," Kurt muttered.  
  
Stephanie stepped back and looked into Kurt's eyes. She ran her hand along the side of his face. "I'm okay now."  
  
"I know," Kurt said. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too," Stephanie said. She sat down and looked over at her friend.  
  
"More secrets?" Jericho asked. His voice sounded hurt and angry.  
  
"Chris, I'm sorry you had to see that," Stephanie said.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Jericho asked.  
  
"Kurt and I had a fight about a month before we got married," Stephanie explained. "And I went out to drive and clear my head. I thought Kurt was gone for good. I got into a car accident and I lost the baby I was pregnant with."  
  
"I came and I helped her recover," Kurt said. "And we eventually decided to go ahead and get married. After about three months, we had a fight about whether or not to tell our friends we were married when all of a sudden Stephanie forgot we were married at all."  
  
"And it happened a couple of other times," Stephanie said. "It took awhile before we realized that in any situation were I feel overly stressed, I am transported to the time of the accident and how abandoned I felt."  
  
"So instead of taking yourself to a place where you feel safe," Jericho said. "You take yourself to a place where you feel threatened."  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said.  
  
"That's why we decided to keep it a secret," Kurt said. "Our marriage I mean. We didn't want to have to explain to the world that Stephanie might not realize we're married all of the time."  
  
"Are you okay?" Jericho asked in concern.  
  
"I'm fine now," Stephanie assured him. "Thanks for being here."  
  
"Yeah, of course," Jericho said.  
  
"Well," Kurt said. "I'm ready for some rest."  
  
Stephanie laughed as she watched her husband walk to the bathroom to change. She looked after him with concern only Jericho could see.  
  
"What about him?" Jericho asked.  
  
"He handles it," Stephanie shrugged. "But it has to be hard on him. What if I can't remember one day? What if I really forget our entire marriage?"  
  
"That would probably suck," Jericho said.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie agreed. "But we deal." 


	8. Chapter Seven

"Come on baby," Kurt said, pulling Stephanie down the hall. He grinned back at her. "You waiting to catch a glimpse of The Rock too?"  
  
"You know better," Stephanie said.  
  
"Yeah I do," Kurt said. "You've seemed happier this past month."  
  
"I've been happier," Stephanie said. She looked into the blue eyes that were both her home and her goal. The pair of eyes that made her feel complete, but were never quite hers. "I feel almost normal."  
  
"Sweetie," Kurt admonished as he pulled her into his arms. "You are normal."  
  
"Normal people do not occasionally forget the past three years of their lives," Stephanie said, pushing gently against his chest. But he refused to let her go.  
  
"You're right," Kurt said, his arms settling around her waist. "You aren't normal. Because normal is boring and stupid. I love you, just as you are."  
  
Stephanie smiled. She leaned her head forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder.  
  
"Love fest alert," Shane said as he walked down the hall with Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy.  
  
"Gross," Jericho joked.  
  
"Hey guys," Kurt said. He hadn't gotten along very well with any of the other men over the span of their acquaintances, but they were all on the same side. And Shane and Jericho really cared about Stephanie. He could see it in their eyes.  
  
"Can I call you Mom?" an obnoxious voice asked as there was a bit of a disturbance at the entrance.  
  
"David you have a mother and I have children of my own," Linda said as she walked into the arena on the arm of Ric Flair.  
  
"Still," David said. "It would make us feel more like a family."  
  
"What the hell?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I have no idea," Shane said. "Mom!"  
  
"Shane, Stephanie," Linda said, walking over to her children. Ric stopped her for a moment and whispered something in her ear. She nodded to him and he walked off in another direction.  
  
"What's going on?" Shane asked.  
  
"Yeah, why does that little jerk want to call you Mom?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Because I married his father," Linda said softly.  
  
"But Daddy," Stephanie whispered. She felt Kurt's arms tighten around her.  
  
Kurt looked up and gave Jericho and Shane a look before pulling Stephanie away from them. "We're going to our dressing room."  
  
Shane watched his sister walk out of hearing range and then asked. "You're fucking kidding aren't you?"  
  
"Don't talk to me like that Shane Brandon McMahon," Linda warned.  
  
"I will talk to you any way I damn well please because it seems to me like you just got married to my father's biggest enemy," Shane said. "And he's only been dead about a month!"  
  
"I can't explain it to you Shane," Linda said. "Just know I have my reasons."  
  
"Reasons you can't share with your son?" Shane asked. He looked over his shoulder and sent a scathing look down the hallway Ric and David had walked. "Your real son."  
  
"David with never be my son," Linda said. "You and Stephanie are the only children I will ever have and the only children I will ever want."  
  
"Then explain to me why you married Ric Flair!" Shane exclaimed.  
  
"I can't!" Linda exclaimed. "Soon."  
  
"Were you cheating on Dad?" Shane asked. Linda looked down at the floor and Shane's mouth dropped open in horror. "Oh my God!"  
  
"Shane dude," Matt said, looking at the people gathering around Shane and his mother. "We should go check on Steph."  
  
"Yeah," Shane said. He looked at Linda again. "I loved you. I trusted you. But I can't anymore. I want you to stay away from Stephanie. She has enough problems without you."  
  
Stephanie jumped a little in Kurt's lap when the door to their dressing room slammed open and Shane, Matt, and Jericho walked in. A bit of Shane's anger melted away when he saw Stephanie sitting in her husband's lap, her eyes red from crying.  
  
"It seems like all I do anymore is cry," Stephanie laughed.  
  
"What the hell are these rumors about?" an irate Rock asked as he barged into the room.  
  
"It looks like you and Chris were right," Stephanie said, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks. "My mom was probably cheating on my dad with Ric Flair."  
  
"She was," Shane said softly.  
  
Stephanie's eyes flew to her brother's face. He had always defended Linda to Stephanie, even when he himself was angry with Linda. He had always been sure Linda knew what she was doing and she would never do anything that would hurt the family. She stood up and went and hugged her brother.  
  
"Well," Stephanie said, as she pulled away from Shane. "The battle lines have been drawn. It just so happens my mom is on the other side."  
  
"Battle lines," Jericho said. "Sounds like we're talking business now."  
  
"You guys know who you can trust," Stephanie said. "From here on out, the people in this room are the only people I trust."  
  
"Same here," Shane said.  
  
"We're going to find a way to get Flair out of this company," Stephanie said. "Before I thought I might be able to just counterbalance him like my dad did. Now I see that he cannot remain a part of this company."  
  
"So? Plan?" The Rock asked.  
  
"Do you know the word patience?" Stephanie asked him.  
  
"Occasionally," The Rock replied, shrugging.  
  
"Good plans take a little time to formulate," Stephanie said. "First of all, there's a few people who don't really have a side right now. They are going to be crucial. We need all of them on our side."  
  
"Is this war then?" The Rock asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said. "And I intended to take no prisoners."  
  
"Stephanie," Kurt said softly. He hadn't seen this harsh, determined side in his wife since she had been in the Alliance. And even then it hadn't seemed near as personal. "You okay?"  
  
"I'm fine," Stephanie said. "The fact is that my father died a month ago. There were a couple of people who had suspicions that his death was no accident. I'm inclined to agree with them now."  
  
"What?" Shane asked.  
  
"Shane, this is all too coincidental," Stephanie said. "Dad was in great shape, Mom has an affair, and Dad ends up dead. Now Mom is married to Dad's enemy?"  
  
"Oh shit," Shane said.  
  
"That's what I'm saying," Stephanie said.  
  
"We need to get to the bottom of that," Shane said. "It might actually help us get all of the WWE back. We owe it to Dad."  
  
"I'm glad you and I are agreed," Stephanie said. "What about the rest of you?"  
  
"You know I'm in," Jericho said.  
  
"Me too," The Rock said.  
  
"Same here," Matt said, nodding his head.  
  
Stephanie looked over expectantly at her husband. "I'm always on your side."  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said, nodding her head. "I don't know how we are going to do it, but we will get the Flairs out of the WWE." 


	9. Chapter Eight

"You okay?" Shane asked Kurt as he sat down next to him in the kitchen in the McMahon estate. Kurt and Stephanie had pretty much moved in with Shane into the giant house after Stephanie had decided to stay with the WWE.  
  
"What are you doing up?" Kurt asked, looking discreetly at the microwave to discover it was after two in the morning.  
  
"I should ask you the same question," Shane said.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," Kurt said. "I tried milk."  
  
"Warm?" Shane asked.  
  
"You know it," Kurt said dryly.  
  
"Sorry man," Shane said. "How's Stephanie."  
  
"Sleeping like a baby for once," Kurt said. "She hasn't been sleeping well since she's left the lighthouse."  
  
"Why?" Shane asked.  
  
"Hell if I know," Kurt replied. "She's grieving for your father still. He was a bastard but she loved him. I really can't begrudge her anything."  
  
"She's actually taken it better than I thought she would," Shane said. "Of course, I didn't realize she had you and I sure didn't think anyone could talk her into staying."  
  
"I was a little shocked myself," Kurt said. "I was going to ask her but Jericho and The Rock had already taken care of it for me."  
  
"How often did you see her before she came back?" Shane asked.  
  
"In the beginning, not so often," Kurt said. "She didn't even want to tell Vince we were married at first. But once she finally broke down and told him, Vince helped me make sure I didn't have to do so much promotional stuff. Near the end, I was there about three days a week."  
  
"I don't know if I could stand that," Shane said. "You guys obviously love each other. I would want to be with her all of the time."  
  
"I did want to be with her all of the time," Kurt said. "I wanted to see her every morning and every night. But Stephanie thought that would hurt me."  
  
"Why?" Shane asked.  
  
"She hated when she would come back from her episodes as she calls them and realize she had forgotten the most important part of my life," Kurt said. "If I wasn't there it wouldn't happen that often."  
  
"I don't quite understand the episodes," Shane said. "Like, what triggers them."  
  
"Stress," Kurt said. "She had forgotten for about a week after Vince died. She could remember Vince died, but that was about it."  
  
"And did you try to find her?" Shane asked.  
  
"I knew she was safe with you," Kurt said. "I knew to bide my time. Every time she comes back she relives the experience of losing the baby. I knew that I couldn't let her lose her father and force her to lose the baby again. Do you understand?"  
  
"No," Shane said. "You don't seem to really care about your marriage the way a husband should."  
  
"How do you mean?" Kurt asked, looking forward so Shane couldn't see the anger that flashed through his eyes.  
  
"I mean, you don't seem to want her to get better from whatever this psychological impairment is, you didn't spend all of the time you could with her, and Jericho is the damn hero of her novels," Shane said.  
  
"I don't think you could ever understand Shane," Kurt said, standing up and going to the sliding glass door to look out onto the dark backyard. "I don't know that I completely understand."  
  
"Try," Shane said.  
  
"Why is it so important to you?" Kurt asked, trying to control the pain and anger he felt.  
  
"Because she's my sister!" Shane exclaimed. "And I love her."  
  
"I love her too," Kurt answered simply.  
  
"Then try to explain it to me," Shane said.  
  
Kurt looked at Shane and stared at him for a moment. He finally nodded and walked back to the chair he had been sitting in. "Do you want to know the most painful night of my life?"  
  
"Sure," Shane said.  
  
"The night we had a fight and she forgot our marriage for the first time," Kurt said. "She relived all of the abandonment she felt the night I left after another fight. She didn't know when she had her episode that I had only left to go get some air, that I came back with wine and roses to an empty lighthouse and a message on the phone from the local hospital saying she had been in an accident.  
  
"When I looked in her eyes after that first time she had an episode, all I could see was hurt and that it was me who hurt her," Kurt finished. "It broke my heart. It breaks my heart every time she has to relive that awful night. If I could take that pain away from her, I would."  
  
"Then why don't you get her in to see a doctor or something?" Shane asked.  
  
"Don't you think I've tried that?" Kurt asked, turning to Shane, his blue eyes wet with tears. "Your sister is convinced that after time it will stop completely. She thinks she would be weak if she went to get help for it. She thinks she will be fine."  
  
"But there has to be something," Shane said.  
  
"Shane, I've threatened to leave her if she didn't get some help," Kurt said. "And then she had an episode. And I knew right then that I couldn't leave her alone. I couldn't ever walk away despite the fact that it kills me that she won't admit something is wrong."  
  
"So you pretend everything is fine?" Shane asked.  
  
"No," Kurt said. "I step on eggshells around her. I try to make sure nothing aggravates her. And now I feel like a watchdog and I'm afraid she will start to hate me because I rarely let her out of my sight. I feel like I treat her like a child, but I feel like I don't have a choice."  
  
"I guess," Shane said.  
  
"I can't live without her Shane," Kurt said, his voice harsh with tears he refused to cry. "And she would rather live without me than get help. She refuses to be weak."  
  
"Then why didn't you spend more time with her while she was up in Maine?" Shane asked.  
  
"I told you," Kurt said. "It hurt her. It hurt me to be away from her because all I wanted to be was with her. I was ready to leave the WWE. We had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of our lives, but she thought it would just hurt me."  
  
"You two are strange," Shane said.  
  
"I know," Kurt said. "If I could make us normal, or less strange in any case, I would do it. I would take away all of that pain she feels when she has an episode. But I can't."  
  
"What about her writing Jericho as her hero?" Shane asked.  
  
"He's her best friend," Kurt replied. "I knew that they were best friends from the moment we started seeing each other again, after she broke up with him. He's the one man in her life who has never broken her heart."  
  
"I doubt Test ever broke her heart," Shane said.  
  
"He did," Kurt answered. "When he refused to believe that she had anything to do with getting married to Hunter, it broke her heart. Her staying married to Hunter had little to do with you and Vince, and more to do with Test. It was just Vince who Hunter wanted to target."  
  
"Wow," Shane said. "And you've broken her heart?"  
  
"Yeah," Kurt said. "Several times. When I was the mole in the Alliance, when I lied to her face and told her I didn't love her afterwards, when I left after our fight."  
  
"Has she broken yours?" Shane asked.  
  
"Yeah," Kurt said. "Every time I read Jericho as her hero."  
  
*  
  
"Hey baby," Stephanie whispered when she felt Kurt slip into bed next to her.  
  
"You're awake?" Kurt asked.  
  
"I woke up about five minutes ago," Stephanie shrugged. She cuddled close to him and smiled when she felt his arms band around her waist.  
  
"I wish you could sleep better than you have been," Kurt whispered to her.  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. "I wished you would too."  
  
"I just feel so tense," Kurt said. "Like something is going to happen."  
  
"Something bad?" Stephanie asked, lightly placing a kiss on his bare chest.  
  
"I don't know," Kurt said. "I wish I could say."  
  
"Hey, it's okay," Stephanie said.  
  
"I love you Stephanie," Kurt said, thinking about his conversation with Shane. He didn't care about what anyone thought about his feelings for Stephanie, as long as Stephanie knew his true feelings for her. "You know that right?"  
  
"I know," Stephanie said, again kissing Kurt's chest. "And I love you too."  
  
"I know," Kurt said.  
  
Stephanie looked up at Kurt while he slept. She kept thinking about the last words she had heard him say to Shane. "Every time I read Jericho as her hero." 


	10. Chapter Nine

"What?" Linda asked in shock. "What do you mean Stephanie's been in a car accident?"  
  
"I just got answered your cell phone," David Flair said, helplessly shrugging his shoulders. "You can drive my car Linda, she's at Memorial Hospital."  
  
"Who's at Memorial Hospital?" Kurt asked, coming down the hallway at the arena. He knew Stephanie should have arrived at the arena by that time. He was starting to get anxious.  
  
"Stephanie," Linda said, turning towards her son-in-law. "She's been in an accident."  
  
"No!" Kurt exclaimed.  
  
"Here," David said, handing his car keys to Kurt and steering them towards the garage where his car was parked.  
  
"Thank you David," Linda said. "Can you find Shane please."  
  
"Of course," David said, nodding to his stepmother.  
  
"Oh God, Kurt," Linda said, gulping for air between sobs. "She's in the hospital, it must have been bad."  
  
"It'll be okay," Kurt said, trying to be comforting to the hysterical woman he was walking with.  
  
"Linda!" Ric Flair called, rushing down the hallway. "Where are you going?"  
  
"It's Stephanie," Linda said, tears streaming down her face. "She's been in a car accident."  
  
"Oh God," Flair said, his eyes filled with sympathetic pain as he looked at his wife. He turned towards Kurt and saw he was equally distressed.  
  
"Give me the keys," Ric commanded gently. "I'm probably the only one here who is completely in his right mind."  
  
"Okay," Kurt said.  
  
"Where's your car?" Ric asked.  
  
"We're taking David's," Kurt said.  
  
"Lets go," Ric said.  
  
Moments later they were leaving the garage and speeding towards the hospital. "Ric, red light!" Linda said. "Stop!"  
  
"I'm trying!" Ric exclaimed.  
  
"Stop the car Ric," Kurt yelled.  
  
"I can't!" Ric yelled. "The brakes aren't working."  
  
Kurt looked to his side just in time to see the pickup truck running into them as they sped through the red light.  
  
*  
  
"There you are," David said as Stephanie and Shane walked into the arena about five minutes after Kurt and Linda had left. "Kurt was worried about you Stephanie."  
  
"I'll go find him," Stephanie said.  
  
As if on cue, Stephanie's cell phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
Shane and David watched as Stephanie listened to the person on the other end of the phone. "Kurt? Mom?"  
  
"What is it?" Shane asked, feeling worried at the distressed tone of Stephanie's voice.  
  
"We'll be right there," Stephanie said. "It's Kurt and Mom and Ric. They were in a car accident. It was bad."  
  
"What was Kurt doing with them?" Shane asked.  
  
"I don't know," Stephanie said. "I've got to get to him."  
  
"Lets go," Shane said.  
  
"Can I come?" David asked, shocked to hear his own father was in the accident.  
  
"Don't you have a car?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I let your mom borrow my car," David said.  
  
"Come on," Shane said, pulling David toward the limo he and Stephanie had arrived in.  
  
*  
  
"Mom?" Shane asked softly as he sat next to her in the ER. The doctors hadn't been able to stop the internal bleeding and there was no telling how long she would be able to hold on. "I'm sorry Mom."  
  
"No Shane," Linda whispered. "I'm sorry. How's Stephanie?"  
  
"She's with Kurt," Shane said. "He was hurt pretty bad."  
  
"I thought she was in an accident," Linda said.  
  
"No, she was with me," Shane said, feeling confused.  
  
Suddenly, Linda's face contorted with pain. "It won't be long now Shane."  
  
"Don't talk like that Mom," Shane said, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "I know that I'm not happy you married Ric, but you're still my Mom. Stay with me."  
  
"I'm sorry I hurt you," Linda said. "This wasn't how the plan was supposed to work."  
  
"Plan?" Shane asked.  
  
"Your dad and I wanted to make sure you and Stephanie got all of the WWE," Linda said. "I'll be with Vince soon."  
  
"With Dad?" Shane asked.  
  
"He's the only man I've ever been in love with," Linda said, tears in her eyes. "We worked so hard to formulate this plan. Ric hadn't changed his will yet."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Shane asked.  
  
"I was talking Ric into leaving me the WWE and his kids everything else," Linda said. "Ric has cancer. It would have worked."  
  
"You don't love Ric?" Shane asked in shock.  
  
"No," Linda said. "Your father knew what we had to do. Bury me next to him Shane."  
  
"Of course Momma," Shane said, grasping Linda's hand tightly in his own.  
  
"Tell Stephanie she was always my sweet princess," Linda said. She rose a shaky hand to gently stroke the side of Shane's face. "And you were always my prince."  
  
"Momma," Shane said, a sob escaping his throat.  
  
"No more tears Shane," Linda said. "I'm going to see my true love."  
  
Shane held onto Linda's and until he felt it go lax in his grip. He rested his head on his hand as nurses and doctors came into the room to check on Linda. "It's over," he said, walking out of the room in dejected spirits.  
  
*  
  
"You bastard," Ric croaked as his son walked into his room. He knew he had to say this before the hemorrhaging killed him. "You tried to kill Kurt and Linda."  
  
"Just Linda," David said. "Kurt was an added benefit."  
  
"You don't deserve to live," Ric said.  
  
"You were the icing on the cake," David said. "Now I'll own WWE."  
  
"Stephanie and Shane will make your life miserable," Ric said. "They will find out you were behind this."  
  
"How would they know?" David asked. "Do you think I would actually tamper with my own brakes?"  
  
Ric's eyes went wide with shock. Before he could say a word, he flatlined. David smiled smugly. He quickly schooled a look of sorrow on his face as he turned to leave the room to give anyone who would listen the bad news.  
  
*  
  
"I know I'm not the best wife," Stephanie said, gripping one of Kurt's hands in her own. "But I'll get better Kurt."  
  
"Stephanie, you were perfect," Kurt said.  
  
"Not really," Stephanie said. She didn't even notice the tears falling down her cheeks. "Why were you in a car with Mom and Ric?"  
  
"David told your mom and I you were in an accident," Kurt said.  
  
"I wonder why he said that?" Stephanie said. "You're going to be okay."  
  
Kurt's eyes closed as another wave of pain swept over him. "I don't want to be in a coma. If it happens, don't keep me on life support."  
  
"Kurt, you're going to be fine," Stephanie said.  
  
"Lets not try to fool ourselves," Kurt said. His grip tightened on Stephanie. "I always loved you. I think I dreamt about you before I met you and I loved you then."  
  
"Kurt," Stephanie whispered, a sob choking in her throat.  
  
"Never doubt my love for you," Kurt said. "Our love wasn't perfect. But it was perfect for us."  
  
"You aren't going to die," Stephanie said with determination. "You're stronger than that."  
  
"I wish I could be," Kurt said. "For you."  
  
"Don't you dare leave me," Stephanie said.  
  
"Steph," Kurt said. "You haven't forgotten anything."  
  
Stephanie looked at him. "Oh my God. You're right."  
  
"I'm glad I might have been able to help you with that," Kurt said, closing his eyes with relief at that one last gift.  
  
"Kurt, I have to tell you something," Stephanie said.  
  
"Okay," Kurt said.  
  
"I heard you talking to Shane," Stephanie said.  
  
"Huh?" Kurt asked.  
  
"You were always my hero," Stephanie said, squeezing her hands tighter. "I didn't need to write about you because you were always with me. You were the one I loved. You were the secret I didn't want to share. You are my real hero. Not Chris."  
  
Kurt smiled at her. "Thank you."  
  
Stephanie leaned over and pressed her lips against his. "I'm just sorry you didn't know before."  
  
"I'll wait for you," Kurt said.  
  
He closed his eyes and he was gone.  
  
Stephanie walked out of his room and came face to face with her brother. They looked at each other and quickly crossed the room to embrace each other. Stunned friends looked on as Stephanie and Shane sobbed in the middle of the waiting room. 


	11. Chapter Ten

Stephanie looked over at Jericho sitting next to her in the airplane seat, sleeping deeply. She smiled softly as she watched him.  
  
"You okay?" a voice from her other side asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said. "I'm not going to kill myself or anything."  
  
"It would be understandable," The Rock replied. "You've lost both parents and your husband in just under two months."  
  
"It's been surreal," Stephanie said, nodding slightly to Rocky. "God, I was just getting used to having Kurt around all the time."  
  
"At least you know he loved you," The Rock said. He looked at her for a moment, noting the tears in her eyes and he shook his head as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her lean into him. "At least you got to say goodbye."  
  
"But he should be here," Stephanie insisted. "I'm not thirty yet, both of my marriages have ended, both of my parents are dead, and I'm going to have to wrestle for control of a company yet again."  
  
"At least your dog didn't die," The Rock said. "Then you might have to write a country song."  
  
Stephanie looked up at Rocky and smiled softly. "You're right. And I need to stay strong for Shane. I hate that he had to go arrange everything in North Carolina alone."  
  
"But you couldn't miss Kurt's funeral," Rocky said.  
  
"I'm glad you and Chris came with me," Stephanie said, willing the tears threatening to spill to stay in her eyes. "I really needed the support."  
  
"You're welcome," Rocky said. "If it's any consolation, Trish flew down to stay with Shane."  
  
"Trish?" Stephanie said. "I didn't realize they were friends."  
  
"They've dated on and off," Rocky replied. "Ever since WrestleMania X- Seven."  
  
"Wow," Stephanie said. "He never told me."  
  
"I gather from Trish it was never anything serious," Rocky said. "They have each dated other people since, but they always seem to go back to each other."  
  
"Including you huh?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"That was a fling," The Rock said. "We were on the same side, things got carried away, Trish and I fell back to earth."  
  
"Whatever you say," Stephanie said.  
  
"They will stay together this time," The Rock predicted.  
  
"I hope so," Stephanie said. "Shane deserves to be happy."  
  
"You do too," The Rock said.  
  
"That has to wait," Stephanie said.  
  
"For what?" The Rock asked.  
  
"For me to get the WWE in McMahon hands where it belongs," Stephanie said. "For my dad, for my mom, and now for Kurt."  
  
*  
  
"Hey Shaners," Stephanie said, hugging him when she finally got to his hotel room. Trish had picked Stephanie, Jericho, and The Rock up at the airport.  
  
"Hey Stephanie," Shane said, holding his baby sister close. "God, I've missed you."  
  
"Hey," Stephanie said, pulling back and looking into Shane's sad brown eyes. "I'm here now."  
  
"Ric's will was read today," Shane said. "Mom was right, he hadn't had a chance to change it yet. But I talked to his lawyer afterward. He said that Flair had been thinking about it. He had an appointment to go over it about two days after he died."  
  
"Well," Stephanie sighed. "I can't believe that little twerp David is going to own half of the company. At least Ric had some respect for the business and the wrestlers, but David…"  
  
"I know," Shane sighed.  
  
"How are we going to get control?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I don't know," Shane said, standing up to pace his hotel room. "I really couldn't even begin to know where we could start."  
  
"How are you holding up?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"What?" Shane asked, looking at his sister.  
  
"You know, you've been here alone," Stephanie said, her blue eyes surveying Shane's face for any signs of anything worrisome.  
  
"Not alone," Shane said. "Trish has been here."  
  
"I hear you two are an item from time to time," Stephanie said. "Thanks for telling me."  
  
"It's never been too serious," Shane said.  
  
"And now?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Now…I don't know," Shane said. "Maybe I'm reading too much into everything."  
  
"I don't think so," Stephanie said.  
  
"Really?" Shane asked. "Why?"  
  
"Call it women's intuition," Stephanie shrugged.  
  
"How about you?" Shane asked. "How was Kurt's funeral?"  
  
"About the same as any other funeral," Stephanie said, her eyes averting to the ground. "It was weird meeting Kurt's family. I'd met his brothers and his mom once before, but the rest of them. It was just strange."  
  
"Yeah," Shane said. "Some people Mom had never mentioned were at the wake tonight."  
  
"How was that?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"It was okay," Shane said.  
  
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I'm fine Steph," Shane said. "I'm not the one who has lost a husband."  
  
"No, no you haven't," Stephanie said. "God, I wonder how hard it was for Mom. And she knew that he was going to die. I can't believe they planned it all."  
  
"Me neither," Shane said. "I wouldn't have put it past Dad, but Mom?"  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said, nodding. "So we've got to get the company back for their sakes."  
  
"Yeah," Shane said.  
  
"I'm going to marry David," Stephanie said.  
  
"Over my dead body," Shane said.  
  
"Shane, it's what we have to do," Stephanie said. "There's really no other way to get the company."  
  
"How are you going to get the company after you marry him?" Shane asked.  
  
"Well, there's always whatever poison Mom and Dad used," Stephanie shrugged.  
  
"No!" Shane exclaimed, kneeling in front of Stephanie. "I won't let you marry that asshole and I sure as hell won't let you commit a murder."  
  
"Shane, let me do this," Stephanie said. "We just need to get David Flair out of this company. If I get caught then at least you will have the whole company."  
  
"Stephanie, it's not worth it," Shane said.  
  
"Mom and Dad thought it was," Stephanie said.  
  
"What about Kurt?" Shane asked. "Kurt would not want you to do this."  
  
"Kurt would understand," Stephanie said. "That was the wonderful thing about Kurt. He always seemed to understand me."  
  
"Well I don't," Shane said. "Even if you should happen to get away with poisoning him, what will make him leave you his property and not his sister and brother?"  
  
"Shane, when a man is in love he will do a lot," Stephanie said. "And when a man believes he is about to become a father, he will do even more."  
  
"You're going to lie about having a baby?" Shane asked.  
  
"No," Stephanie said. "I'm going to have a baby. That just means I'll have to get David into bed soon. Then I won't have to pretend I'm overly in love with him either."  
  
"Stephanie, you're pregnant?" Shane asked, awe filling his brown eyes.  
  
Stephanie's hand briefly covered her flat abdomen. "I think I am. I'm not certain. We have to do this though Shane. I can't think of anything else."  
  
"I wish you'd give it time," Shane said.  
  
"I don't have time," Stephanie said. "There's a very limited clock now." 


	12. Chapter Eleven

"Hey David," Stephanie said sweetly, sitting next to the son of Ric Flair. "How are you coping with everything?"  
  
"Fine," David said. "Why would you care?"  
  
"Because I think I kind of understand what you're going through," Stephanie said, scooting just a little closer to him. "No one deserves to go through it alone."  
  
"I'm not alone," David said defensively.  
  
"And where are your friends?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Who needs friends?" David asked, looking up into Stephanie's eyes. He paused for a moment as he looked into the limitless blue. "I mean, I don't need them."  
  
"I don't believe you," Stephanie said softly. "Losing Kurt has taught me so much."  
  
"Like what?" David asked derisively. "That he was a dork?"  
  
Stephanie clenched her fist to hide her anger and forced a light laugh. "Besides that. It taught me that it's ridiculous spending my time trying to position myself in the best possible way so I can't get hurt again. I will get hurt, there's no way to stop it."  
  
"You know, I'm really sorry about Kurt," David said, a glimmer of sincerity shining through.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said. "It'll get easier. I'm strong enough."  
  
"You are strong," David said. "I wish I was as strong as you are. I'm weak."  
  
"Weak?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yeah, I have to do what I want to do when I want to do it," David said. "I have no willpower, no delayed gratification."  
  
"Maybe you can learn it," Stephanie shrugged.  
  
"You want to teach me?" David asked.  
  
Stephanie looked over at him, a plan formulating in her head. "I can give you a lesson tonight in the hotel. Midnight."  
  
"The hotel?" David asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said. "I need to get my mind off of everything anyways."  
  
"Okay," David nodded.  
  
"Your room," Stephanie said. "I'll be there."  
  
*  
  
He had been too easy. There was no fun involved when plans came together perfectly. She could feel the manipulative McMahon side of her coming out. She felt this righteous anger that allowed her to let David Flair touch her, again and again.  
  
She slipped out of his arms and grabbed at her clothes. She slipped the black leather pants back on and her purple top. She looked down at him sleeping peacefully. She managed to keep from shuddering while she thought about the fact that she would have to sleep next to him for quite some time.  
  
She shook her head in disgust at herself as she left the room. The whole night she had seen Kurt in her mind's eye, looking at her with disgust. It had nearly broken her resolve and her heart. Then she remembered all her parents had sacrificed so that they company could end up back in McMahon hands. Then she could bear anything.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" a voice filled with disgust asked.  
  
Stephanie turned around to see The Rock standing in the hallway. "What does it look like?"  
  
"Jesus, your husband has been dead for two weeks!" The Rock said.  
  
"You couldn't understand," Stephanie said as she turned and walked down the hall towards her room. "No one could."  
  
"You could try me," Rocky said, following her down the hall.  
  
"Fine," Stephanie said. "But only because you deserve to know what the hell is going on because you seem to take a lot of abuse from David."  
  
"Who is your new boy toy," Rocky pointed out.  
  
"Just come into my room," Stephanie said, opening her door and letting him in.  
  
"So?" Rocky asked as he paced the room. She looked at him and smiled ruefully as she thought about how he had paced the ring that same way so many times.  
  
"My dad knew he was going to die," Stephanie said. "He and my mom planned it. Mom was going to marry Ric and convince him to leave the company to her. He had cancer. But he didn't have a chance to change the will before the accident."  
  
"And you're sleeping with David because?" Rock asked.  
  
"Because I'm finishing the job," Stephanie said. "I'm going to make him believe I'm pregnant with his child and convince him that Kurt was sterile."  
  
"Are you really pregnant?" The Rock asked.  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said.  
  
"Congratulations I guess," Rock said, sitting down on the bed next to her.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said. "I know that you probably don't understand why I feel the need to do this."  
  
"I don't understand why you would want to be involved with David for the rest of your life," The Rock said. "I mean, he'll want to be a part of the child's life."  
  
"He won't be," Stephanie said with certainty. "He won't be."  
  
"Stephanie?" Rocky asked.  
  
"Trust me," Stephanie said.  
  
"I don't know," The Rock said. "That's dangerous."  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. "Sometimes I don't trust myself."  
  
Rocky was taken aback to see a solitary tear roll down the side of Stephanie's face. He held out his arms to her and she gratefully sank into his embrace.  
  
*  
  
"You're sure it's mine?" David asked.  
  
"Positive," Stephanie said. "You're the only other person I've slept with in years. Kurt was sterile. Do you want to see the medical records?"  
  
"No," David said. "That's okay."  
  
"Well," Stephanie sighed. "What do you think we should do?"  
  
"We should get married," David said.  
  
"Wait a second," Stephanie said, not wanting to seem too eager. "Plenty of couples have children without getting married."  
  
"Not people from North Carolina," David said.  
  
"But I just lost my husband," Stephanie said.  
  
"You aren't going to pretend that my child is Kurt Angle's child," David said.  
  
"But, I loved him and I don't love you," Stephanie said.  
  
"You really should have thought about that before you decided to jump in the sack with me," David said. "You're going to be a Flair Stephanie. Learn to live with it."  
  
*  
  
"I can't believe you are going through with this," Shane said, hugging his younger sister.  
  
"The hard part is getting him to put me and this kid in his will," Stephanie said.  
  
"True," Shane said. "You've gotten this far."  
  
"My feelings exactly," Stephanie said.  
  
"Well, good luck," Shane said.  
  
"Who needs luck?" Stephanie asked. "I've got brains."  
  
Shane shook his head as he watched Stephanie walk out of the hotel room. 


	13. Chapter Twelve

I know it's been forever since I've updated this, sorry about that. I hope you like this chapter.  
  
*  
  
Stephanie leaned back in her big leather chair in the sanctuary of her office at Titan Towers. She absently stroked her swollen abdomen. Her baby seemed like the only thing she was sure about anymore. Nothing in her life made much sense.  
  
She was married to a man she hated. She allowed him to use her body night after night. She would just laid in her bed, going through the motions, hating the way she felt. She couldn't even pretend David Flair was someone else, because his touch was so different from any other touch she had ever known.  
  
She reached out and opened the top left drawer of her desk and pulled a picture frame out of it. She looked at the picture and felt a smile grow. It felt like it had been ages since she had smiled. It seemed unreal that she had been married to David for five months. Kurt had been dead for six months.  
  
Stephanie stroked the line of Kurt's face. In the picture, he was holding her in his arms and they were both turned to the camera. He had been chasing her around the land just outside of her lighthouse and he captured her in a bear hug. They were both grinning like idiots at the camera.  
  
It had been Vince's last trip to the lighthouse. He had taken the picture of Stephanie and Kurt. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about her father and all he had sacrificed for her and Shane. He had died so they might carry on his legacy. And her mother had watched the man she loved die and had married his enemy in an attempt to fulfill his wishes.  
  
Linda would understand exactly what Stephanie was going through. She was trying to get something by pretending she loved a man she hated.  
  
No, that wasn't exactly true. No one was fool enough to believe that Stephanie loved David. Even David wasn't delusional enough to believe that. But she did share a life with him at the moment. She lived with him, she slept with him. He thought her child was his.  
  
"Kurt?" Stephanie whispered to the picture. "Show me I'm doing the right thing here."  
  
"You know, talking to pictures is one of the first signs of severe delusions," a sardonic voice said from the doorway. Stephanie looked up and smiled briefly at the man in the doorway. "Your secretary wasn't at her desk."  
  
"She has the day off," Stephanie said. "Come in."  
  
"Thank you," he said, moving toward the two chairs in front of her desk. He looked at them and shrugged as he propped a hip up on the edge of her desk. "How's it going?"  
  
"It's going?" Stephanie shrugged, setting the frame in her lap.  
  
"Let me see," he said, holding his hand out to her.  
  
"Why?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Because I want to see," he said gently. "I care about you and that picture is obviously important to you."  
  
"You care about me?" Stephanie asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.  
  
"Yeah, strange as it seems given our checkered past," he replied. "You've changed a lot in the years you were gone Steph. You're a good person now."  
  
"A good person who married a disgusting excuse for a human being a month after her husband died?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"We both know you have your reasons," he replied. "They may be McMahon reasons, which no one else on the planet could ever justify, but they are reasons."  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said sarcastically.  
  
"Two more months until you're a mommy," he said, changing the subject. His hand was still held out to her and she gave him the picture. He studied it closely for a long moment. "You were both happy here."  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said wistfully. "God, I miss him. I wish, I wish I hadn't convinced myself that locking myself away in my lighthouse was such a great idea."  
  
"You can't change what's done Steph," he said.  
  
"No, you're right," Stephanie said. She took the picture back from him.  
  
"Any chinks in David's armor yet?" he asked.  
  
"He's changing his will to make me the executor and the baby will be the sole heir of his shares in the WWE," Stephanie said. "No stipulations that the baby be his, just that the first born child of Stephanie McMahon-Flair will inherit his shares."  
  
"How do you know all of that?" he asked.  
  
"David's lawyer couriered a copy of the new draft to the house yesterday and I looked over it while David was sleeping," Stephanie said.  
  
"You need to be careful around him," he warned, leaning a bit closer to look her in the eyes. "He doesn't have the basic decency that his dad had. If he finds out about anything. I don't even want to think about what would happen to you Stephanie."  
  
"I'll be fine," Stephanie said.  
  
"Say that all you want Steph," he said. "But none of us fully realize what he is capable of."  
  
"I'll be okay," she assured him again.  
  
"Damn it Stephanie!" he exclaimed, coming around her desk and pulling her to her feet. "You still think because you are Stephanie McMahon everything will be taken care of you. You think that you will be able to escape."  
  
"Don't pretend to know me," Stephanie said. "I've lost my parents and my husband in less than a year and I'm married to a man I hate! I'm taking care of this, it's not being taken care of for me. You don't know anything!"  
  
Stephanie didn't feel his lips covering hers until her arms were already wrapped around his neck. His hands ran up and down her back. His mouth plundered hers and for the first time in months she felt truly alive. She kissed him back, giving him all of the fear and anxiety she felt.  
  
Finally he stepped away and he looked at her. "I love you. I know you more than you think."  
  
"You love me?" Stephanie asked shakily, leaning back against the desk. "How? Why?"  
  
"Who knows how?" he asked. "And I love you because you're strong, you love with everything you have, and you're willing to sacrifice so much for this company and for the people who work here. And you're Stephanie McMahon. No one can help but like you, no matter how much they claim otherwise."  
  
"Oh my God," Stephanie whispered, looking in his eyes and realizing he wasn't lying.  
  
"I'll leave now," he said.  
  
"No!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Don't go."  
  
"What?" he asked, turning back to her.  
  
"I won't lie to you and tell you that I love you," Stephanie said. "You deserve better than that. But can you possibly just hold me for awhile?"  
  
He smiled in a way that warmed her heart. She had started to think that no one would ever care about her again after the things she was doing. She was almost certain she would never have anything else good in her life.  
  
"I'd love to hold you," he said, pulling her into his arms. His strong arms circled her and held her close to him. Her head rested on his shoulder.  
  
"Sometimes I wish I wasn't pregnant," Stephanie whispered. "I wish I could get closer."  
  
"Get away from my wife!" David Flair exclaimed from the doorway. He walked toward them and grabbed Stephanie's wrist, yanking her out of the sanctuary of the other man's arms.  
  
"Look, Stephanie and I are friends," he said. "You may be married, but you can't tell her who she is and isn't allowed to be with."  
  
"If you're one of the people she's going to be with I felt like I should overstep my bounds," he said. He yanked Stephanie against his side.  
  
"Don't pull her around like that!" the other man exclaimed. "She's not some doll. And she's pregnant, or have you forgotten?"  
  
"That's a little hard," David said derisively as he looked at Stephanie's stomach. "I wouldn't be mad if you and Stephanie were just friends. You weren't holding her like a friend."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous David," Stephanie said. "I don't think many people would find me attractive while I'm as big as a house."  
  
"I just don't want him around you," David said. "You need to get it through your thick skull that you are my wife now."  
  
"Lucky me," Stephanie sighed as she walked toward her desk.  
  
"What did you say?" David asked as he yanked her back to him.  
  
Suddenly, Stephanie's hand was freed as David was tackled to the ground. "If you ever touch her in a way that is intended to harm her again, I won't be responsible for my actions."  
  
"Shut up," David said. "I'm your boss!"  
  
The other man's fist smashed into David's face. "I'll make you pay you piece of trash! Get off of me! I'm David Flair."  
  
"You're father commanded respect," the other man said, punching David's face. "You don't even command attention."  
  
"Rocky, get off of him," Stephanie said, pulling him away from her husband. "Don't do anything stupid. Please!"  
  
"I'm off," Rocky said, standing up. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve you Stephanie."  
  
"Thank you," Stephanie said. "I'll be okay now."  
  
"I doubt that very much," Rocky said, leaving nevertheless. 


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Stephanie laid in between the cool sheets, trying to toss and turn her way to sleep. David always stayed out until dawn broke, so she knew there were hours she could get some semblance of sleep.  
  
It didn't matter what she did, she couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept well in days and there was only one possible explanation for that.  
  
"Damn you Rocky," Stephanie muttered as she got out of her bed and walked to the window. She liked to think at night, but lately all of her thoughts were centered on one person.  
  
She seemed to be drawn to cocky men with great smiles. First on the long list of arrogant men she had felt anything for was Andrew Martin. And his smile had sure melted her knees and made her want to see those smiles for the rest of her life.  
  
Then there was Hunter. He had to be one of the most arrogant men she had ever come in contact with. But on him, arrogance fit well, kind of like a good pair of jeans. And his smile was a big reason they stayed married as long as they did. He would look at her with those great eyes and that penitent smile and she could forgive anything.  
  
There was Jericho, the first man she dated after her failed marriage. Even he knew he had an ego the size of a small planet. And his grin made her want to kiss him until both of them were completely out of breath.  
  
Stephanie closed her eyes as she pictured Kurt's smile. His smile warmed her heart like nothing else could. She hoped her child had his smile. And his great eyes that would light up whenever he smiled at her. She could deal without the Olympic-sized ego though.  
  
And now she seemed to want The Rock. He definitely gave all four men a run for their money when it came to cockiness. The man called himself the Great One. At least Hunter only called himself The Game. And his smile was something wonderful. The man was made to smile. Every time he smiled, Stephanie could picture most women and a few guys drooling.  
  
How had he gotten into her heart?  
  
Sure, he had been with her through the ordeal of Kurt's funeral and he went with her to Linda's funeral. And he was one of the few people who knew what she was doing with David Flair. Jericho was willing to trust her because they were best friends. Shane knew what was going on. Most everyone else had alienated her for siding with the enemy.  
  
Stephanie jumped as her phone rang. She prayed it wasn't David asking her to come pick him up at some bar.  
  
"Hello?" Stephanie asked into the receiver.  
  
"Hey beautiful," responded the caller. "I can't get you out of my head."  
  
"Can you read my mind?" Stephanie asked as she cradled the receiver against her shoulder. "It's a little late to be calling, don't you think?"  
  
"A friend called and said David was at some bar getting shit-faced," Rocky answered. "I felt like now would be a good time to talk to you."  
  
"I'm glad," Stephanie said softly as she sank into a soft chair.  
  
"How are you baby?" Rocky asked. His concern flooded through the phone and warmed her heart. She smiled softly to herself.  
  
"Wonderful now," Stephanie said. "I wish you were with me. It seems like everything in my life is so messed up right now. But when I think about you I know everything is going to be fine."  
  
"It will be," Rocky said.  
  
"David sent the will back to his lawyer today," Stephanie said. "It's already been notarized and everything."  
  
"So we only have to wait a little longer," Rocky said. "We don't want it to seem like we planned anything."  
  
"We?" Stephanie asked in horror. "No, you aren't going to be a part of this. I feel bad enough having told you and Shane that I'm going to do something. I don't want you involved in this. I want your hands clean."  
  
"Stephanie, I love you," Rocky said. "I won't let you do this alone."  
  
"You don't have a damn choice," Stephanie said. "I need someone who won't be arrested who will be able to take care of my baby."  
  
"Stephanie, we can make it look like an accident," Rocky protested.  
  
"And if we can't?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"We can," Rocky said confidently.  
  
"I don't want to argue with you," Stephanie said. "All I know is that I have to finish this before he has a chance to find out this baby is Kurt's."  
  
"That does put a time limit on things," Rocky said.  
  
"Oh my God," Stephanie said in a horrified whisper.  
  
"What is it?" Rocky asked, feeling something deep inside of him twist and tear at the pure terror in Stephanie's tone.  
  
Stephanie's breathing became labored, but she said nothing. "Stephanie?"  
  
"He's here," Stephanie whispered. A moment later she let out a shrill scream and the phone went dead.  
  
Rocky stared at the phone in his hands. "Oh my God."  
  
In the next moment he was dialing Shane's phone number. "Shane. Get to Stephanie's house. I'll meet you there. I think David's going to hurt her!"  
  
He felt like his body was on auto-pilot as he grabbed his keys and flew out of his hotel room. He took the stairs, not willing to risk a slow elevator. He held his cell phone in his other hand and repeatedly dialed Stephanie's number. No one picked up the phone.  
  
"What the hell is wrong?" Shane asked as Rocky pulled into David and Stephanie's driveway.  
  
"I was on the phone with Stephanie and she said he's here and she screamed," Rocky said, stalking toward the front door.  
  
"Why would she scream?" Shane asked.  
  
"Because she had just finished telling me she had to get rid of David before Kurt's baby was born," Rocky said. He tried the knob, but it was locked. "Damn!"  
  
"Back door," Shane said.  
  
"Not enough time," Rocky said. He looked around and took off his sweatshirt. He punched through the glass next to the door and reached in to unlock the door. The house alarm blared.  
  
Shane and Rocky paid the alarm no heed as they raced upstairs to Stephanie's room. They could hear her sobs from down the hall.  
  
"Stephanie!" Shane called.  
  
"Help!" Stephanie screamed. Rocky flinched, still hearing the terror in her voice. But he was so glad she was still able to scream. Only God knew what David had done to her.  
  
Both Shane and Rocky gasped as they stepped into the room. Stephanie was lying on her back on the floor, blood flowing from her temple. David was sprawled across her, his own head bleeding.  
  
"Get him off of me!" Stephanie exclaimed. "I can't move him!"  
  
Rocky moved forward to drag David Flair off of her. Shane helped her to her feet and asked her if she was okay.  
  
"How long has he been out?" Rocky asked.  
  
"He's not out," Stephanie said. "I hit him with a steel paperweight Kurt gave me. I hit him hard."  
  
"Stephanie," Shane whispered as he turned to look at David. He knelt next to him and tried to feel a pulse. "He's dead."  
  
"I know," Stephanie said.  
  
"The police are going to be here any minute because of the alarm," Rocky said.  
  
"He was going to kill me," Stephanie said. "He was trying to kill my baby."  
  
"Come here," Rocky said softly, holding open his arms to her. She limped over to him and let him hold her while she cried.  
  
"Just tell them that Stephanie," Shane said.  
  
"But why would he want to do that?" Stephanie asked her brother. "Why would he all of a sudden want to kill my baby?"  
  
"Because he thought you and I were having an affair," Rocky said.  
  
"I couldn't do that to you," Stephanie said.  
  
"I'm doing it to me girl-of-mine," Rocky said, kissing her forehead.  
  
"I killed him," Stephanie whispered in horror.  
  
"And you feel a lot more guilt for that than he felt for killing our mother, his father, and your husband," Shane said. "He was going to hurt you Stephanie. You have a right to defend yourself."  
  
"Lets hope the cops feel the same way," Stephanie said.  
  
Stephanie let Rocky hold her as they listened to the police sirens approach the house. 


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"She's eight months pregnant."  
  
"She killed her husband."  
  
"Not really David's baby."  
  
"Sleeping with The Rock."  
  
"Conniving bitch."  
  
Stephanie held her head up as she watched the judge come into the courtroom. She wished she could just ignore the whispers behind her. The whispers she had heard for the past month.  
  
Stephanie jumped upon feeling a hand on her shoulder. She turned around at the comforting squeeze. She smiled gratefully at her brother, The Rock, and Chris Jericho. They all believed her, all believed in her innocence.  
  
But many people found David's death a little too bit coincidental. He had just changed his will on the day of his death. There had been no paternity test to ascertain whether the recipient of most of David's assets was actually his son. And David had no history of abusing women that anyone could dig up.  
  
She looked at the other people sitting behind her for a brief moment. Most of the people seemed to support her, believe that she had killed David in self-defense. But there was Stacy Kiebler who had testified that David abhorred men who beat women. There was David's mother who said David loved the baby Stephanie was carrying.  
  
And then there was Hunter, who still carried some grudge against her for faking a pregnancy. He had regaled the judge with tales of many things she had done while married to him. Stephanie had wanted to cry while he was on the stand, yell at the injustice. She hadn't been that woman in years. She had changed so drastically upon leaving the WWF.  
  
But Stephanie saw the irony too. She had been planning to kill David. She wasn't certain she ever could have done it, but she had planned for it. And he offered her the perfect opportunity to do so without actually breaking a law.  
  
She had refused to let either Shane or Rocky testify as character witnesses. She didn't want to take the chance that they would perjure themselves, knowing they would never admit to anyone that Stephanie had planned on killing David. Since Jericho was unaware of the plot, she had let him take the stand. That had been the previous day.  
  
Stephanie's lawyer said he had one last surprise witness. Then the defense would rest.  
  
"The defense wishes to call Trish Stratus to the witness stand," her lawyer said. He had worked for the McMahon family for years. Larry Owens was one of Vince's closest friends and he had offered his services to Stephanie outright upon hearing that she was going to be tried for second degree murder.  
  
Stephanie, Shane, Rocky, and Jericho all turned quickly to see Trish walk into the courtroom, looking very somber. "Trish," Shane whispered, obviously very surprised at his girlfriend's appearance.  
  
Trish was sworn in and assumed her seat at the witness stand. "Please state your full name and address for the court."  
  
"Patricia Stratus from Toronto, Canada," Trish said. She was looking at Shane intensely. There seemed to be some plea in her eyes, for him to understand what she was going to say.  
  
"Miss Stratus," Larry started, going to stand in front of the witness. "What is your relation to the defendant?"  
  
"We're acquaintances," Trish said. "Lately we've been friends, but that hasn't always been the case. I am also dating her brother, Shane McMahon."  
  
"And your relationship to the deceased?" Larry asked.  
  
"Ex-girlfriend," Trish said.  
  
"When did you date David Flair?" Larry asked.  
  
"I started dating David in January of 2003 and we broke up in April of 2003," Trish replied.  
  
"And how many of your friends knew about this relationship?" Larry asked.  
  
"Only one," Trish said. "Chris Jericho."  
  
"Why no one else?" Larry asked.  
  
"David wanted to keep it a secret," Trish replied. "He was dating Stacy Kiebler at the time and we were just having a fling."  
  
"A fling that lasted four months?" Larry asked.  
  
"Yes," Trish said.  
  
"And why did the relationship end?" Larry asked.  
  
Trish looked again toward Shane. She closed her eyes and said, "Because David beat me."  
  
"One time or several times?" Larry asked.  
  
"One time," Trish said. "I refused to stay with a man who could hit me."  
  
"And why did he hit you?" Larry asked.  
  
"Because he thought I was seeing someone else," Trish said.  
  
"Who did he think you were seeing?" Larry asked.  
  
"The Rock," Trish answered.  
  
"The same person who the defendant was allegedly having an affair with?" Larry asked.  
  
"The one and the same," Trish replied.  
  
"Were you?" Larry asked.  
  
"No," Trish answered. "Rocky and I had tried to hold together a relationship a little over a year earlier, but it didn't work out. We remained close friends."  
  
"And how would you respond to statements that the deceased hated men who abused women?" Larry asked.  
  
"He must have hated himself," Trish said.  
  
"No further questions," Larry said.  
  
The judge looked at the assistant DA who shook his head.  
  
"The defense rests your honor," Larry said.  
  
*  
  
Stephanie watched the judge walk slowly back into the courtroom the next day. It was the woman who could decide her fate. The woman who could separate her from her unborn child for a long period of time.  
  
"It is the decision of this court that Stephanie McMahon-Flair is not guilty of the charge of second-degree murder," the judge said. Stephanie felt her body almost instantly relax. "The defendant was obviously trying to protect herself and her unborn child from any harm. The death of David Flair was an unfortunate accident."  
  
The judge dismissed the court and Stephanie turned to face her friends. They each hugged her and let her know how glad she had been found not guilty.  
  
Trish Stratus stepped timidly forward. "I hope you can forgive me for not telling you about David before you married him. You should've known."  
  
"It's okay," Stephanie said. "You came through when I needed you."  
  
"I'm glad I could help," Trish said. Shane wrapped a protective arm around Trish's waist.  
  
Stephanie's eyes met with Rocky's and they both smiled. She was finally free. There would be rumors of a conspiracy, probably for a long time. But she was free from guilt.  
  
The WWE would be solidly in the hands of the McMahon family again, where it belonged from the start. Part of Stephanie felt it was only right that she had brought the shares back, because it was she and Shane who had sold them in the first place.  
  
Stephanie could announce after her child's birth, which everyone thought was due in two months, that it was actually Kurt's. The rumors would flare up again, but they would eventually die because in the long run, David Flair was pretty much universally hated. Only his family and Stacy seemed to harbor any fond feelings for him.  
  
And Stephanie could start to lead a normal life. A life in which she would be a mother. A life in which she was in constant contact with her family. A life in which she wasn't afraid of love.  
  
"Let me take you home," Rocky said, putting a guiding hand in the small of her back.  
  
"That sounds like heaven," Stephanie said. 


	16. Chapter Fifteen

"What will you name him?" Shane asked, looking down at his nephew.  
  
Stephanie looked up at her brother, the man who had been there through her delivery. "I was thinking Brandon Christopher Angle."  
  
"You left out Rocky," Shane said, reaching out and running a finger down the baby's chubby cheek. "He's been there for you too."  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. "But I think he'll understand."  
  
"I'm sure he will," Shane agreed.  
  
"We need to take the baby back to the nursery Miss McMahon," a nurse said, wheeling a plastic cart into the room.  
  
"Okay," Stephanie said, smiling one last time at her son. She leaned her head next to him. "I'll show you the world. It will be yours."  
  
"Dad always said that to us," Shane said, after the nurse had taken the baby from the room.  
  
"I know," Stephanie said, reaching her hand out to grasp her brother's hand. "It feels like we can finally move on."  
  
"I know," Shane said.  
  
"We deserve it," Stephanie said. "We brought the McMahon legacy back into the family."  
  
"You did it Stephanie," Shane said.  
  
"I never could have done it if you hadn't been there," Stephanie said. "You gave me a lot of strength bro."  
  
"Thanks," Shane said, smiling at his sister. "Sometimes I think of you as a little girl still. I know you aren't a little girl, but part of me wishes you were. I wish you didn't have to live through all you've lived through."  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Stephanie said. "I've learned from my life. I can tell who I can trust and who I can't. And I have real friends."  
  
"Did she have the baby?" Jericho asked as he rushed into the room, Rocky and Trish on his heels.  
  
"She had a son," Shane said, smiling over at his friends. Trish came over to wrap her arm around Shane's waist. "Seven pounds, five ounces."  
  
"And his name?" Jericho asked.  
  
"Brandon Christopher Angle," Stephanie said. She leaned against Rocky as he propped a hip up onto her bed.  
  
"Great name," Jericho said, grinning.  
  
"What's he looked like?" Rocky asked.  
  
"Blue eyes," Stephanie said.  
  
"Curly brown hair," Shane said.  
  
"Chubby little cheeks," Stephanie giggled.  
  
"And a great smile," Shane said. "It reminds me of someone."  
  
"Kurt," Stephanie said, smiling serenely.  
  
Shane thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, it reminds me of Kurt."  
  
"That was all I wanted," Stephanie said. "Well, besides the baby being healthy. I wanted the baby to have Kurt's smile."  
  
*  
  
"You've never looked more beautiful," Jericho said from the doorway of Brandon's nursery.  
  
Stephanie looked up at her friend and smiled softly. She continued to glide in the rocking chair with Brandon in her arms. "Thank you."  
  
"And this guy," Jericho said, coming into the room to look down at Stephanie's son. "He's going to be someone, I can tell."  
  
"He's a McMahon," Stephanie answered.  
  
"I don't think I'll ever know everything," Jericho said, crouching next to the chair so he could look at both Brandon and Stephanie easily. "But that's okay with me."  
  
"I knew going in that Kurt was the father," Stephanie said. "I never intended to stay with David."  
  
"You don't need to tell me Stephanie," Jericho said. "I trust you. I've trusted you ever since you became my manager."  
  
"That's nice to have," Stephanie said.  
  
"As a friend, can I tell you something?" Jericho asked.  
  
"Sure," Stephanie said.  
  
"I see how you look at The Rock," Jericho said. "And I see how he looks at you. He loves you Stephanie. He and I might not be the best of friends, but he's a good man."  
  
"I know that," Stephanie said.  
  
"Then you should stop holding back," Jericho said.  
  
"I'm not," Stephanie insisted.  
  
"Then why isn't he living in this house with you?" Jericho asked. "Why haven't you told him about your entire past?"  
  
"I'm not ready for a relationship Chris," Stephanie said. "You might not have had enough time to see it, but I loved Kurt with all my heart."  
  
"Loved, as in past tense," Jericho replied.  
  
"No, I love him still," Stephanie said.  
  
"And now you have Brandon to remind you of Kurt for as long as you live," Jericho said. "Kurt wouldn't want you to stop living."  
  
"Kurt probably wouldn't have wanted me to marry David Flair either," Stephanie shot back at her friend.  
  
"Probably not," Jericho conceded.  
  
"And he never liked Rocky," Stephanie said.  
  
"Who cares?" Jericho asked. "He loved you and he would want you happy. If it's The Rock who makes you happy, then be with him."  
  
"I never thought I would hear this from you," Stephanie said. "It was a year after you and I broke up before you stopped pestering me to give us another chance."  
  
"And if you decided to do that now," Jericho said, grinning at his friend. "I wouldn't complain."  
  
"I love you Chris," Stephanie said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "But I'm not in love with you."  
  
"Break a guy's heart," Jericho joked.  
  
"Not likely," Stephanie said.  
  
"What's going on with Shane and Trish?" Jericho asked.  
  
"I can't tell you," Stephanie said. "I thought Trish was your friend. You Canadians always stick together."  
  
"You say Canadians like it's a bad thing," Jericho said.  
  
"No, I love Canadians," Stephanie said.  
  
"Good to hear," Jericho said.  
  
"It's time to put this little one in his crib," Stephanie said.  
  
*  
  
Jericho and Stephanie walked downstairs together, Jericho holding the baby monitor in his hands. They stopped to see Trish and Shane laying together on the couch, an old movie playing on the TV.  
  
Shane opened his eyes and looked over at Stephanie and Jericho. "Hey guys," he whispered.  
  
"Comfortable?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Comfortable enough," Shane said. He would have shrugged if Trish hadn't been draped over him.  
  
"Good to hear," Stephanie said.  
  
"Hey, what's that on Trish's hand?" Jericho asked.  
  
Shane took Trish's hand in his and brought it to his mouth to kiss her palm gently. The diamond ring glittered.  
  
"Congratulations," Stephanie whispered.  
  
"Thanks," Shane said.  
  
"What's going on?" Trish asked, as she slowly awoke. She looked down to see Shane beneath her. "Hey."  
  
"Hey yourself," Shane said softly. "We fell asleep."  
  
"Congratulations Trish," Stephanie said. Trish looked over at Stephanie in surprise. "And welcome to the family."  
  
"Thanks," Trish said, blushing.  
  
"You two deserve to be happy," Stephanie said.  
  
"So do you Steph," Trish said. 


	17. Chapter Sixteen

"Where are we going?" Rocky asked, looking out of the car window at the cliffs that sloped down toward the Atlantic Ocean.  
  
"You'll see," Stephanie said. She looked back in the backseat at Brandon. He was sleeping peacefully.  
  
"There's barely anything out here Stephanie," Rocky said after a few moments. "Did you decide to get me in the middle of nowhere and kill me?"  
  
"Something like that," Stephanie said, smiling over at him.  
  
"You're really not going to tell me, are you?" Rocky asked.  
  
"I want to show you," Stephanie said.  
  
"Show me what?" Rocky asked impatiently/  
  
"That," Stephanie said, pointing directly in front of her. Perched high atop the cliffs of the Maine coast, sat a solitary lighthouse. "That's it."  
  
"A lighthouse?" Rocky asked.  
  
"My lighthouse," Stephanie said. She pulled up to the side of the building that had been her home for years.  
  
"You bought a lighthouse?" Rocky asked. "Are you leaving the WWE again?"  
  
"No," Stephanie said, shaking her head as she got out of the car. She went to the backseat and pulled Brandon out of his seat.  
  
"Then what?" Rocky asked, feeling confused.  
  
"This was my home while I was married to Kurt," Stephanie said, walking to the door and fishing for her keys in her purse, while holding Brandon.  
  
"Let me take him," Rocky said, pulling Stephanie's six-month old son out of her arms.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said, flashing Rocky a brilliant smile. "I had to bring Brandon here at least once, because I was happy with his father here. He might not remember it. But I'll give it to him someday."  
  
"That's nice," Rocky said, holding Brandon close to his chest. "But why did you bring me here?"  
  
"I wanted you to see it," Stephanie said.  
  
"Why?" Rocky asked.  
  
"Only three people knew about this place," Stephanie said. "And Shane only vaguely knew about it, he didn't know where it was. Kurt and my dad were the only people who knew where it was. They were the only two people who had been here."  
  
"Wow," Rocky said.  
  
"And I wanted to share it with you," Stephanie said.  
  
"Thank you," Rocky said, leaning down to press a kiss on Stephanie's forehead. "It means a lot to know you hold me in such high company."  
  
"Most people wouldn't count Daddy and Kurt as high company," Stephanie said.  
  
"And I don't generally speaking," Rocky said. "But I know what they meant to you. And I'm so happy that you felt even somewhat similarly about me."  
  
"I love you," Stephanie said to him, softly as if she was afraid for him to hear it.  
  
Rocky looked at her, hardly believing his ears. He had been telling her for nine months that he loved her and she meant the world to him. She had never returned the words, but he had waited. The words sounded better than he ever could have imagined.  
  
"I love you too," Rocky said.  
  
"I know," Stephanie said. "It's what got me to this point."  
  
"What point?" Rocky said.  
  
"I was so afraid of loving you Rocky," Stephanie said, her blue eyes looking out towards the tumultuous ocean.  
  
"Why?" he asked.  
  
"Look at what happens to people I love," Stephanie said. "They get hurt. I didn't want that to happen to you."  
  
"Stephanie, you couldn't have changed what happened to them," Rocky said, stepping closer to her.  
  
"I know that now," Stephanie said. "And I know that no matter how much I tell myself that loving you could only bring you pain, I can't keep myself from loving you."  
  
"Thank God," Rocky said. He set Brandon down on the ground and pulled Stephanie into his arms for a soft kiss.  
  
"You're too good for me," Stephanie said.  
  
"That's ridiculous," Rocky said. "You're better than you think you are."  
  
"You say that and I almost believe it," Stephanie said, leaning down to pick up her son.  
  
"I'll just have to keep saying it until you believe it," Rocky said. "I'll say it for ever."  
  
"That sounds like a promise," Stephanie said.  
  
"It is," Rocky said.  
  
"I might take you up on it," Stephanie said, letting him wrap his arm around her waist and lead her into the lighthouse. She had to face her past before she could jump into her future. She saw that now. 


End file.
